Minister says sorry for passport backlog

HOME Secretary Theresa May has apologised for delays in processing passport applications and insisted the Government is doing all it can.

Union bosses claim almost 500,000 passports are stuck in a backlog system, while Northern regional secretary for the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCSU) Simon Elliott has said job cuts at passport offices, including at Durham’s Milburngate House, are to blame.

At a debate in the House of Commons yesterday Theresa May said staff were dealing with the highest demand for passports for 12 years.

She added: “I would like to say to anybody who is unable to travel because of a delay in processing their passport application that I am sorry and the Government is sorry for the inconvenience they have suffered.”

Durham City Labour MP Roberta Blackman-Woods, later tweeted: “So glad got to speak in Passport Debate. Wanted to stand up for hardworking staff in Durham office. Lack of resourcing is not their fault!”